Mad World
by DingbatDawn
Summary: Two girls. One trying to accept herself and get over her roommate, the other just trying to find happiness. An unfortunate accident brought them together and now nothing will ruin their happily ever after. This is their story.
1. Mad World

**Hi! Thanks for clicking on this story.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight but I do own a broken toe and a wonderful imagination. :)**

**This was beta'd by MinaBR, who practically overhauled my awful grammar! Thanks bunches!**

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I can hardly see through the haze that seems to inhabit the club as I weave my way through the crowd, attempting to find my friends I came here with. I'm beginning to think that I should have waited for the bathroom until I got back home- the relief isn't worth the effort of trying to find them. I spend the next few minutes standing still, observing everyone at the club. The amount of people grinding in public always disgusts me. It's one of the main reasons I hate going to clubs and bars.

I take my friends' advice and go out just this once and this is what happens- I'm stranded in the middle of humping people by myself. Great. I'm contemplating leaving as I spot a familiar head of black hair. I slowly make my way through the remainder of the crowd towards Alice, feeling a mixture of emotions. On one hand, I'm happy to no longer be alone; on the other hand, the familiar heartache that accompanies me whenever I'm around her flares up.

"Bella! Where were you? We've been waiting here practically forever." Alice's words are slurred and blend together, making it difficult for me to understand her. I take a minute to process her words. And to possibly notice how nice she looks in red.

"I was in the bathroom. The line was really long." I say. After all, that explanation seems good enough to me.

"Oh. Are you having fun? 'Cause I'm having fun! It means so much to me that you came out with us. I would feel just awful if we left you in the house by yourself again." Alice has always been an emotional drunk, and tonight apparently is not an exception.

It's just like Alice to home in on the fact that I don't enjoy going out with her and her friends. I like going out, just not to the places Alice and her boyfriend Jasper go. They almost always go to places like this club and then come home smashed, which I don't mind. I'd just rather not be a participant. I've been their roommate for two years and this is only the second time I've ever gone out with them. The first one was to celebrate my moving in, this time it's to celebrate Jasper getting a promotion at his construction job.

"Tons of fun, Alice. Just tons of fun." I doubt Alice is paying enough attention to pick up on my sarcasm. "I think that I'm going to head home. Do you think that you guys can make it home okay?" I ask looking around for Jasper. Alice dances off and I am momentarily distracted from my Jasper searching. _Stop it, Bella. You're in public_, I _tell_ myself. When I spot him I wave him over.

"What's wrong Bella?" Jasper asks noticing how my eyes occasionally drift over to where Alice is twirling around.

"Nothing. I just wanted to let you know that I'm heading home for the night. I have an early class tomorrow." My excuse is flimsy, but Jasper doesn't question it.

"Be careful. Lock the door when you get home, I have my keys."

"Okay."

I take off without another word. Once outside I flag down a cab and tell the driver my address. The ride is over too soon-I am faced with the knowledge that this is my life. I have no social life outside of Alice and Jasper so if I choose not to hang out with them, I am basically forced to sit by myself and read a book or something. With the door safely locked behind me, I try not to mope too much as I shower. After all, it was my choice to come home early. If only the circumstances were different, perhaps we would all three be the best of friends. If only I didn't hold an unreasonable amount of jealousy for Jasper.

My bed seems to be extra comfortable tonight, so I sit on the edge as I brush my hair. I should really get a haircut soon; my hair is almost to my waist, but Alice thinks it looks good long.

Alice. There's the root of my recent emotional turmoil. It's hard being in love with someone when you know there's not even a slight possibility that anything will ever happen. I know, for sure, Alice will never be interested in me as anything other than a friend, but for some reason I can't stop myself from loving her. I know she's straight and she's in love with Jasper but I still can't stop myself from getting overly excited when she texts me or compliments me or just generally acknowledges my existence. I'm pathetic.

Then, there's always the issue that Jasper will probably kick me out of the house one day soon. I know he's noticed the way I look at Alice, even if she hasn't. I often look away from Alice only to meet Jasper's eyes. He's never said anything to me, but I figure it's only a matter of time until he's had enough of my weirdness. I really dread the day that happens.

I'm not even positive they know I'm a lesbian. I've never mentioned it and they've never asked. Alice has always just assumed that I'm too busy to date and I don't think Jasper ever really cared until I started falling for Alice. I'm sure it will eventually come out, I just hope neither one of them hate me when it does. They've never seemed homophobic but they will probably be mad that I've never mentioned it before. At least Alice will be, I'm pretty sure Jasper suspects. I really hope that we'll at least remain friends once they find out. I've had a few friends who completely freaked when I opened up to them about my sexuality.

The worst reaction, by far, was my mother's. Renee had never been accepting of anyone who was different- I was no exception. How she found out, I'm still not sure but I will never forget the look of pure hatred on Renee's face as she kicked me out of her house. I was only sixteen. Thankfully my dad took me in without any questions. We've never discussed why I was kicked out and I've never really told anyone else that I don't like guys. I haven't spoken to Renee since the night she kicked me out six years ago.

I'm brought back to the present by a key being fumbled into the lock on the door. I can hear Alice and Jasper stumble into their room and a short while later I hear the telltale moans of what is sure to be a long night. My already bad mood gets a little worse and I decide that I will probably get no sleep tonight. I really do have a class in the morning and this is sure to put me in a bad mood for tomorrow as well. This is probably the worst thing about living here. Sure, I get to see Alice in various states of undress around the house, but more often than not, I also get to hear the things that got her into the various states of undress. As their moaning picks up, a ridiculous amount of jealousy and rage shoots through me.

Pulling on my gray sweat pants, running shoes and a hoodie, I grab my phone, my keys and leave. I decide to run my regular two mile route. As long as I have to be up, I might as well get some exercise. My legs burn with the familiar feeling of the run not long after I start. My phone begins blaring and I know it's one of my roommate calling me. I push myself to go faster as another wave of rage courses through me, even though I know I have no reason to be feeling this way.

When my run is through, I decide to walk a little to avoid going home. At this rate I'm probably going to watch the sunrise in a dirty laundromat. My head hurts at the thought of me having a nice soft bed at home and instead of being in it, I'm walking down a deserted street at 3am to avoid listening to the girl I love having sex. What has my life come to? This is one of those questions that never really seem to have an answer.

My eyelids begin to droop and I realize I've wasted enough time walking. I pick up the pace and begin to run at almost full speed. I make it almost half way home before I trip. The fall is bad, I know this as I hit the pavement. I can hear the sickening crunch of bone yielding as I land with a strangled yelp. I try to right myself and promptly collapse back onto the ground. As much as I don't want it, I need help.

I take my phone out of my pocket- it had miraculously survived the fall and dial Alice. I listen to the phone ring seven times- then Alice's cheery voice saying to leave a message. I hang up and dial Jasper- getting the same result. I growl in frustration and hang up. The pain is beginning to fully set in- I know that I need to go to a hospital. With it being the only option, I dial 911 and listen to the phone ringing.

"911, what's the location of your emergency?" a polite voice asked once they got me connected to the right part of the city.

"I'm at the corner of West and 33rd street." I whimper.

"Okay, ma'am. Can you tell me what's wrong?"

" I was running and I fell. I'm pretty sure something is broke, I can't stand up." I explain in a rush. I can hear the pain in my voice as I speak.

"We're sending an ambulance right now. I'm going to stay on the phone with you until the ambulance gets there." the operator tells me.

I'm grateful- while I didn't worry about my safety during my run, now it just seems like every rustle of the wind is someone waiting to rob me. I've never noticed how creepy a deserted street is after dark until now.

It's not long before I can see and hear the ambulance making its way towards me. I relay this information to the operator and we end the call. The pain is overwhelming and I can feel tears leaking from my eyes. The ambulance pulls up beside me- two paramedics jump out, making their way over to where I am. A man approaches me while a woman appears to be getting gear out of the bright white and red vehicle.

"Can you tell me what happened?" the male paramedic asks when he kneels on the ground next to me with a clipboard.

"I was running- I tripped on something and fell. I tried to get up but I can't stand. My friends didn't answer their phones so I called 911." The explanation is rather short but the guy doesn't say anything until he looks up from the clipboard.

"Does your back or neck hurt?"

"No, it's my knee. Maybe part of my leg and my head."

"Alright, we're going to get you loaded up and on the way to the hospital. My name's Jake by the way, that's Leah." he says pointing to the female wheeling over a stretcher with a leg brace on it. "I'm going to put the back board underneath you and then we'll lift you onto the stretcher. Okay?" Jake asks though he doesn't wait for my response before he begins shoving a rough piece of hard yellow plastic under my back. "On three Leah. One. Two. Three."

On three Jake and Leah lift the yellow plastic and place me onto the stretcher, which isn't much more comfortable. The stretcher picks up every little rock and bump it seems, jostling my leg and causing me to emit high pitched whimpers of pain.

As we get closer to the flashing lights, I notice that both Jake and Leah appear to be Native American, which isn't unusual for the area. There are several reservations in Washington and a lot of Native Americans live in the surrounding areas. Jake is tall and well muscled with short black, spiky hair.

Leah has the same shade of skin and hair as Jake, but that's where the similarities end. Her hair is long and silky; her facial structure looks exotic and delicate. She looks toned and, from what I can tell, is several inches taller than my five foot three. She glances down at me as I'm being lifted into the ambulance and my heart rate spikes- I feel butterflies in my stomach for the first Alice unrelated time in two years. Now is not the time to be crushing on girls, I tell myself. Even if they are super attractive.

"I'll ride." Leah tells Jake as my stretcher is locked into place.

She then proceeds to hop up into the ambulance and take a seat next to the stretcher. My heart skips another beat as she catches my eyes. Her eyes are almost black, but I can see flecks of cinnamon color in them as she looks away. Jake shuts the doors and makes his way around to the driver seat.

"Do you have a hospital preference?"Jake asks as he begins to pull off.

"Seattle General. My roommate's dad works there." I explain.

I look over at Leah and I can feel my face turn red when I notice that she's already looking at me. _Probably because you're a patient_,my mental voice tells me and my face turns even redder.

" Name, age and date of birth please." Leah says picking up her clipboard. Her voice reminds me of honey and silk.

"Isabella Swan, 22, September 13, 1991." I recite. I lick my lips as Leah writes the information. Every time I look over at her my mouth seems to go dry.

"I need your social security number, phone number and your medical insurance card, if you have it." I give her my social security and phone number, but explain that I don't have my insurance information right now. "That's fine, we'll get it at the hospital. Do you need to call anyone?"

"No. I already tried calling my roommates. They're..er...preoccupied." I stutter as my face turns bright red again- I hate blushing.

"Oh, I see. Is that why you were running?" Leah looks genuinely curious as she asks this question. I feel an odd sense of comfort with her and I find myself responding.

"Yeah, I have an early class in a few hours and I figured that if I couldn't sleep I might as well do something worth my time." I suddenly feel self conscious as Leah looks over my running attire. Why didn't I wear my new outfit?

"Do you run often?"

"At least every other day." I say, my eyes drifting back to Leah. The bright lights are beginning to give me an even bigger headache.

"Maybe we can go running together sometime." she suggests. My pain dims even further at the thought of spending non mandatory time with Leah.

"That sounds great. If I'm allowed to run again any time soon." I sigh looking down at my leg.

"Well even if not, we can go running when your leg is better." I look up and I know the smile on my face is ridiculous looking at best.

We're broken out of our little bubble by Jake hollering from the front of the ambulance. "We'll be there in about two minutes. Do you have the paper work filled out?"

"Yes, Jake. You do know that I graduated at the same time you did, right? I wasn't hired because of my looks. I know how to do my job." Jake ignores her and continues driving. "Men." she mutters. "He thinks that I can't do my job as well as he can because he's a guy and I'm not."

I nod in sympathy. "What an ass." I say.

"You girls do know that I can hear every word that you're saying?" Leah and I smirk.

Jake stops the ambulance and Leah leans over me to release the stretcher from the lock. I can't help but enjoy the view. When Jake opens the doors, I can tell by the look that he gives me that I've been caught.

Leah hops out as I begin panicking internally. Jake will probably tell her about my ogling later and they'll both have a good laugh about it. At this thought, my eyes fill up again with unshed tears. Leah notices and asks if my leg is hurting worse now. I nod- she seems to accept it. Jake, however, looks as if he knows I'm lying, but doesn't say anything. They wheel the stretcher into the emergency room and stop at the front desk letting the staff know I'm here.

"Put her in room one. Dr. Cullen's waiting for her." a small blonde nurse says, pointing to a room behind a curtain. I'm wheeled into the room and transferred onto the hospital bed when Carlisle comes breezing in the room.

"Bella, what a surprise seeing you here. Leah, I haven't seen you in a while," Carlisle pauses and looks at Jake, "I don't really know who you are."

We all laugh before Carlisle ushers the paramedics out of the room. I'm sad to see Leah go but the throbbing of my leg quickly reminds me why I'm here.

"So after a couple of x-rays, we'll see what needs to be done. Why didn't Jasper and Alice bring you here?" Carlisle queries.

"They were...busy." I say. The look on Carlisle's face tells me he understands and he's not particularly happy. About 45 minutes after I'm taken to X-ray, Carlisle informs me I'm going to need surgery to repair my knee and broken leg. I'm taken into the operating room a short while later and thoroughly prepped for surgery. What a way to spend a Thursday night is my last thought as I'm put under anesthesia.

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**A/N Thanks for sticking it out to the end. I hope you enjoyed it, if not please let me know why. Constructive criticism is always helpful. Please review and let me know what you thought! **

**I will try to update frequently but I'm not going to put a for sure schedule up because I'm one of those people that just don't do well with deadlines.**

**Until next time,**

**Dawn:)**


	2. Clarity

**Disclaimer: Twilight is not mine**

**Thanks to my awesome beta MinaBR who, once again, helped with my awful grammar and word choices!**

**Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, and followed. I appreciate it!**

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The brightness of the white light stuns me as I blink my way into consciousness. I slowly look around and notice no one is in the room with me. The pain in my leg reminds me of why I'm here-I press the nurse call button to alert them that I'm awake. As I take in my surroundings, I notice the heaviness of my leg and the white cast that surrounds my leg from ankle to just above my knee. I only have to wait a couple of minutes before a nurse comes in to check my vitals. She relays a message from Carlisle- he'll be here as soon as he finishes his rounds. I thank her after she administers a dose of pain medication to my I.V. I lie in the hospital bed and think about my situation.

Not to brood or anything, but someone should at least be here with me. If the light drifting in through the window is any sign, it's at least mid morning. I would like to think that despite my odd behavior, Alice and Jasper should still care enough to be here with me. I shift around on the bed and attempt to find my phone. I should at least call my dad and let him know I'm in the hospital. My searching is interrupted by Carlisle walking in.

"How are you feeling?" he asks looking at my chart.

"Okay, I guess. I'm not in any pain. How long will I have the cast on?"

"Anywhere from six to eight weeks. You'll also have to use crutches for that amount of time." Joy. I absolutely hate crutches. This will inevitably mean that I'm going to need help doing just about anything that involves standing or walking. I groan at the thought and Carlisle smiles gently as if he knows what I'm thinking. "It won't be so bad. At least you'll have Alice and Jasper to help you out with things." I nod in agreement, thanking whoever is listening that I won't need help in the shower. I wouldn't be able to handle being naked in front of Alice. "Speaking of them, they're here. Are you up to having visitors?"

"Yeah, I think I can handle it." Carlisle steps out of the room and a few minutes later Alice and Jasper come in. Alice looks bright and bubbly as usual and Jasper looks like he's detesting every minute spent in the hospital. "Hey guys." I say as they sit next to the bed.

"How are you feeling? I'm so sorry that we didn't answer the phone last night. I feel awful about it." Alice rushes.

"I'm feeling okay and it's fine. It was pretty late when I called." I acknowledge. Alice looks down and it hurts a little to see her look upset. "It's really okay. It's not that big of a deal." I reassure her and she seems to perk up a bit.

"Okay, but I'm going to make it up to you. I promise." Knowing Alice, this will include at least one expensive pair of shoes I won't be able to wear due to the cast.

We all sit and chat for about an hour before Carlisle comes back with breakfast. I'm not sure how he gets cinnamon buns in a hospital, but I'm eternally grateful that I don't have to suffer through hospital food.

"You should be able to go home tomorrow." Carlisle explains as we finish eating. "Were the steps ever fixed in front of the house?" _Shit_, I think. There's absolutely no way I can get up the broken down steps on crutches, even with help. By the looks on everyone's face, they realize this as well. "Is there anyone else you can stay with?" Carlisle asks gently. "I don't it would be a good idea to have you going up and down those steps several times a day when you have classes."

"My dad lives just outside of La Push-there's no way that I can stay with him and still go to classes. I'll figure something out." I say, but I really have no idea where I'm going to go. I have no friends and my dad lives an hour away. "I have some money saved up, maybe I'll just stay at a hotel or something."

"Or you could just look for a room somewhere else." Time seems to freeze as I look up at Jasper. Is he really serious?

"Jazz, we can't expect her to move. Her leg is broke and she's in the hospital. Why would she even have to move? We have no use for that room." Alice says all of this with a perplexed look on her face. Carlisle, sensing an argument approaching, reminds everyone that this is a hospital and excuses herself.

"I was just thinking that Bella could maybe find a place to stay that she would be more comfortable. Someplace where she can get her sleep and has no stairs." Jasper says this while looking at me, as if he's urging me to agree.

I evaluate the situation carefully before I answer. If I disagree with Jasper, it is highly likely that he'll tell Alice everything he's noticed over the past few months. I can't let that happen. If there's no chance at all for me to be with Alice, I at least want to be friends.

"Yeah, I can start looking for a place to move." I say, breaking up their quiet argument. They both look at me with varying degrees of surprise. Alice looks a little hurt that I agreed to move out and Jasper looks surprised that I went along with his plan.

"Are you sure, Bella? I don't want you to leave until you're completely ready to do so. There's no rush." The look in Jasper's eyes disagree with Alice's kind words.

"It's fine. I don't mind moving. Really." I assure her. Maybe once I move out, my feelings for Alice will fade and I will be able to keep our friendship intact. At least I hope that's how it will work. After a few minutes of sitting in awkward silence, I complain I'm tired and they offer to leave. I take them up on their offer-Alice promises she'll be back later with me some dinner. I thank her and they leave me alone in my hospital room.

It's hard to believe a five minute conversation terminated my current living arrangement. I can't help but feel it's my fault that Jasper has come to dislike me this much. He has reason to dislike me for all of the jealousy I feel towards him. I deserve the situation I'm in. I should have moved out as soon as I realized that I was falling in love with Alice. I should never have let it get this far.

For much of the day my attitude and mood stay much the same. I don't laugh at the jokes the staff tell me; I barely touch my lunch. After lunch was taken, a nice nurse brings me a few books and magazines. I absorb myself in reading for hours, only being interrupted when my vitals are taken and medicine is given. I enjoy the silence the hospital provides, if not for my current situation, I might even enjoy it here.

Time seems to pass slowly- around 3pm I decide to take a nap. While I sleep, I dream. I dream of the future that I want with Alice. I dream of the night Renee kicked me out of the house. And finally, I dream about Leah. I dream that Leah and I are a happy couple with a daughter, which is strange because I've never thought about having children.

When I wake, I feel confused again. It seems odd to want two people at the same time. Especially knowing that both are impossibly straight. My head aches and I ask a nurse for more pain medication. After I take the medicine, my head feels fuzzy and I soon succumb to sleep again.

This time when I wake it's dark outside and the lights have been dimmed in my room. I am covered with a thick white blanket to keep out the chill that seems to be in every hospital. I'm not up for very long before a nurse steps in and asks me if I am up for company. I briefly contemplate telling her no, but decide against it. If they have dinner, then I'm sure that I can put my feelings aside for a few minutes.

But to my surprise, Alice and Jasper aren't who walk in. Leah, followed by Jake, enter into my room, their arms full of things.

"Hey." Leah says. At the sound of her voice, the butterflies start up in my stomach.

"Hi." I say as they begin to set things down.

"We brought you dinner. I told Leah we should have called first but she wanted to surprise you." Jake hands me a plateful of spaghetti.

"I'm certainly surprised. I didn't expect you guys to come visit me." I wonder if they visit all of their transports.

"We wanted to. Or rather Leah wanted to, I'm just tagging along." With this remark, Leah smacks the back of Jake's head and he laughs. I think about his comment for a few seconds before responding. Maybe Leah does like me.

"Well, thanks. I appreciate the food and the other things." I say looking at the chair that holds multiple gifts.

"We thought presents might cheer you up. So, we go you fuzzy pajamas and a gift basket. It mostly has bath products in it." Leah explains. I appreciate the gesture and tell them as much. "It's no big deal. So what's the verdict on the leg?"

"I have a compound fracture and a torn ACL. I have to wear a cast for six to eight weeks-I will probably have to have physical rehab."

"If there's anything I can help you with let me know." I consider asking if she knows anyone with a room to rent. Leah can tell that I'm thinking about something. "What is it?" she asks.

"I was wondering if you know anyone with a room to rent. One of my house mates wants me to move and I don't really know anyone here." I explain. It never hurts to ask, I suppose. Leah looks over at Jake and he smirks nodding slightly.

"We have an extra room, if you want. It's just Jake and I that stay there. Our apartment is on the fourth floor, but we have an elevator, so you wouldn't have much trouble getting in or out." Leah looks, dare I say, hopeful as she tries to pitch the idea of me living in their spare room.

"I don't want to impose on you guys." Though the offer sounds nice, living in the same house as Leah sounds like another set up for the Alice situation.

"It's really no problem, Isabella." Jake says. I almost immediately correct him.

"It's just Bella. I only hear Isabella when I'm either in trouble or at a formal event."

"I completely understand. My full first name is Jacob-Ephraim, with a hyphen in the middle. That's why I go by Jake. It would take forever for people to actually say it if I went by my full first name." What a name is the first thought that pops into my head. Jake quickly gets back onto the subject of the apartment, though. "It's a three bedroom apartment so there's plenty of room. Your room will be across from Leah's if you decide to take the it. We can help you move and everything. Leah would really like to have another girl in the house. She gets tired of living with just me."

"It's true." Leah confirms. "He's really annoying so you'll have to deal with that. But we share the cost of rent, utilities, and groceries. I'd really like it if you moved in." Leah says peering at me through her lashes. My mouth goes dry and my heart pounds which is visualized on the small heart monitor to which I'm still hooked up. I nod silently and they both grin. "Great! We'll clean it for you really well. When do you get released from here?"

"Tomorrow. Is it okay if I move in that soon?" I hesitantly ask.

"Of course it is. I get off work at two tomorrow afternoon. I can pick you up then and when Jake gets off work, he can help us pack, if that's okay with you."

"That's fine with me." I say. I can't believe I have already found a new place to live less than 24 hours since I learned that I needed to move. Leah hands me my spaghetti and I eat it eagerly. As I'm finishing, Alice and Jasper walk in.

"Oh. I didn't know that you already had company." Alice says as she stands in the doorway with Jasper slightly behind her.

"This is Leah and Jake. They were the paramedics from last night." I take a deep breath, "and my new roommates." Alice, once again looks shocked and Jasper looks rather happy, if I do say so myself.

"That was fast." The shock in Alice's voice is plainly evident to everyone in the room.

"Yes, well, when you are friends with someone, you tend to help them in whatever way you can, not turn them out onto the street." Leah's tone is sharp and biting. Alice looks offended, but Jasper stops her before she says anything.

"That's great of you guys to let Bella stay with you." Jasper drawls looking very self-satisfied. I'm a bit shocked I've never noticed how much of a prick he really is.

"It's like Leah said." Jake reiterates, sizing Jasper up. A nurse comes in to check my vitals again-she reminds everyone that visiting hours are over in ten minutes. Alice and Jasper almost immediately say their goodbyes and leave. Jake and Leah linger a little while, finalizing our plans for tomorrow.

When they leave, I am exhausted. I lie back and attempt to sleep, but every time I close my eyes, I see Leah's black and cinnamon eyes staring back at me. I try to block her out and count back from 100, but before I get to 80, there is a knock at the door.

"Come in." Carlisle walks in with a stethoscope around his neck. He grabs my chart before sitting next to my bed.

"I hear you had quite the day today." He peers at me with fatherly concern.

"Yeah, I'm moving out of Alice and Jasper's tomorrow."

"Why, if you don't mind me asking."

As he is Jasper's father I am a little apprehensive about telling him the exact reason.

"Jasper thinks that it would be best for everyone if I move out." Carlisle shakes his head.

"Is this because of Alice?" My head shoots up at his question. "You're not as secretive as you think about the staring. But don't worry, I'm not going to judge. Does Alice know?" I shake my head and he smiles gently. "I'm not going to tell her, but I think you should. She's your friend, she would want to know. I will, however, talk to Jasper about his being rude."

"You don't have to. I kind of deserve it."

"Bella, no one deserves to be practically discriminated against for being who they are. As Jasper's father, I will not tolerate him acting like this. But enough of the heavy, do you like your new roommates?"

"Yeah, they're really nice."

"And Leah's pretty cute." Carlisle says knowingly. I blush and nod in agreement. "You didn't hear this from me, but I you might have more of a chance with Leah than you think." With that comment, he takes his leave and I am once again left alone with my thoughts.

I slip in and out of consciousness for several hours. Finally, as the sun begins to appear, I accept that I am awake for the day. Time to move.

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**A/N Thanks everyone for reading! Please review!**

**Until next time,**

**Dawn :)**


	3. One Foot

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight**

**Thanks bunches to my awesome beta MinaBR. She really helped this chapter make sense. If you read it before she beta'd it, I apologize.**

**Also, thanks to all of those that have reviewed, favorited, and followed. :)**

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Judging from the light filtering through the window, it undoubtedly is going to be a rainy day. _What a day to move_, I think as I begin dressing to the best of my capabilities. I pull a dark blue t-shirt and a pair of baggy gray sweat pants on. They don't really match, but I'm so excited about leaving the hospital that I decide I don't care.

I've never been a girl to really care too much about my appearance, at least not in the form of clothes. I do believe my most comfortable outfit is the one I wear when I run-sweats and a shirt-so, by these standards, I'm pretty comfortable today.

As I sit on the bed brushing my impossible hair, I realize it has been two days since I've had a proper shower. That will be my first order of business once Leah takes me to Alice and Jasper's. _Leah._ The memory of Leah is enough to make me wish I could take a shower before she saw me again, even though I know this would not be possible with my bulky leg cast in the small shower in the hospital.

I pull my hair into a pony tail and pack the stuff that I had accumulated into a purple bag. There isn't much more for me to do before I'm released to go home-I sit back on the uncomfortable bed, turning on the TV. I flip through channels until I find Cake Boss-I absolutely love this show. I'm not a very good baker when it comes to the decoration side of things. My cakes, cookies, and pies all taste great-so I'm told, but the toppings always look like a three year old decided to finger paint. Oh well, you can't be good at everything.

Around 7:30am I turn the TV off and lie in bed quietly. By my estimation, this will be the only quiet time I'll get for a while so I might as well take advantage of it. Moving is sure to be difficult with the rain and only three people doing the packing. Coupled with my huge cast, this will be the most complicated moving situation I have faced, in a while.

I have a lot of stuff to pack after I leave here. _Maybe I should get boxes on the way home_, I briefly think. With my luck, I'm going to trip and, fall over the boxes and land myself right back in this room. I shudder at the idea of being back here anytime soon.

I try to sleep for a little bit, figuring that I will need my energy for later. I only lie there for a few minutes, it seems, when a nurse I didn't recognize walked in.

"Good morning!" she says looking around. Her voice has a very chipper quality to it that reminds me of Alice. I feel a twinge at the thought that tonight I won't have dinner with Alice, then watch TV and talk.

"'Morning." My response lacks the enthusiasm that her voice has, but she doesn't seem to notice.

"Are you ready to get out of here?"

"Most definitely." The nurse laughs and nods her head.

"Do you have any big plans for later?"

"I'm moving when I leave here." I tell her.

"Moving, huh? The weather today is supposed to be absolutely awful, plus you've got that cast to worry about, not to mention that you're going to be on crutches. I hope you have plenty of people to help you out, honey." Her face shows her concern as she turns back to look at me.

"I have a few friends who are going to help me out." My reassurance seems to assuage her concerns.

"It's good that you have people to help you out." I nod in agreement

"Do you know what time I'm getting released today?"

"Probably in the next half hour or so. Dr. Cullen was your admittance doctor, so he has to be the one to release you, but overall it shouldn't take much longer." I thank her and she leaves, abandoning me to my silence in the cold room.

I check my bag over one more time to make sure I have everything. Then, I proceed to sit in silence. The thought that I might be impersonating a statue crosses my mind-I laugh out loud for a moment before regaining my composure. I crack myself up way too much with jokes that aren't even funny most of the time. I only move when there is a knock at the door.

"Come in." I say loud enough to be heard through the thick wooden hospital door. Carlisle walks in, closely followed by Leah. "Hi." Leah waves as Carlisle picks up my chart for what I hope is the last time.

"Well, Bella, it looks like you get to go home today."

"Great!" I say. Carlisle smirks and shakes his head while Leah just smiles.

"And here I thought that you enjoyed it here at Castle de Cullen." Carlisle's face takes on mock hurt and I laugh.

"I enjoy the company, not the accommodations." I joke. We banter for a few more minutes before Carlisle starts the business side of things.

"Like I said yesterday, you'll be in a cast and on crutches for around six to eight weeks, maybe more depending on the stress that is put on that leg. I'm going to send you home with a prescription for some medication that will help with the pain. Are you going to be her driver?" he looks at Leah as he asks this question.

"I suppose so. I mean, if that's alright with you Bella."

"That's fine with me, I can't exactly drive right now, so..." I trail off and both of them nod.

"Okay, Leah, here's what you need to do. Since you're going to be living in the same house as Bella," hearing this gave me more of a thrill than I'd like to admit, "you need to mainly make sure she's not doing too much and that she's taking her medication when she should. Along with the pain medicine, I'm going to write a prescription for some antibiotics to prevent an infection from starting."

Carlisle barely pauses to take a breath before he continues. "If you develop any severe pain, high fever, rash or nausea you need to come to the Emergency Room immediately. Leah, I'm sure you know the warning signs."

"Yes, sir." She affirms and Carlisle laughs at the formality of her tone.

"Okay, well then, Bella you just need to sign these forms." I take the forms Carlisle hands me and sign my name as well as date the papers before handing them back. "And Leah, as the driver, you need to sign this document saying that we are releasing Bella into your care. Carlisle immediately leaves the room to get my crutches—the final step towards my freedom.

"Are you excited to get out of here?"

"Yeah, I'm just sorry I picked such a bad day to move." I joke.

Leah considers this thoughtfully for a moment before saying, "We could wait until another day if you want." I go pale at the thought of spending unnecessary time with Jasper.

"No, I was only joking—my roommate really needs the space as soon as possible." The more I use that excuse, the more I begin to believe it.

"Alrighty, then. Do you have much furniture that needs to be moved?"

"Not really, just my bedroom furniture. And two lamps."

"Jake has a truck, do you think it will all fit in the back on one trip?" I briefly consider this.

"It should, the bed is only full size bed so it's not that big." Before Leah can respond, Carlisle walks into the room again with an extremely shiny pair of silver crutches. Our conversation comes to a stop as I am measured and test out my new crutches.

I'm super uncoordinated, so I stumble a few times before I get the hang of it. Carlisle lets me walk down to an elevator on my own before he insists that I go the rest of the way to Leah's vehicle in a wheelchair. I attempt to argue, but quickly give up when my resistance seems futile.

The elevator ride is relatively short—Leah and I don't speak until we are outside.

"So if you want to wait right here, I'll go and get my car."

"That's fine." With that, Leah walks off, leaving me holding my purple bag of gifts in a wheelchair. I only sit there for a moment or two before a dark green Honda SUV pulls up and Leah hops out.

"It's a little high up, so I'm going to help you get in."

"Okay." I say as Leah approaches me. She lets me walk on the crutches to the vehicle and then practically puts me in the car. As she leans over me to help me get situated, I think about really needing that shower and just like that my face is fire engine red.

"Did I hurt you?" Leah looks concerned. I answer honestly.

"No, I'm fine." Thankfully, she allows me to leave the conversation at that. As we start to pull out of the hospital parking lot the sky finally opens up, pouring rain everywhere, with the occasional crack of thunder.

Leah and I drive in almost complete silence, with the exception of me giving her directions to my, soon to be former, place of residence. The drive is short and within fifteen minutes we pull up to a rather rickety looking set of stairs, leading up to the small white house with green shutters.

"Well that's going to be fun." I look over at Leah as she says this—sarcasm is evident in her voice.

"What?" I curiously ask.

"Getting you up those steps. Why don't they get them repaired?" I shrug my shoulders. "Well, no time to get started like the present." Leah climbs out of the vehicle and comes around to help me down. I grasp my crutches as soon as my good leg is firmly on the ground.

I can positively say that all those people who say that having a cast is not big deal are fucking liars. Leah carries my bag as I slowly make my way up the stairs with her occasionally steadying me so I don't fall back down the steps. It takes a good ten minutes for me to get up the seven steps that lead to the house—I am instantly thankful I won't have to do this again. By the time I reach the door I'm sweating like a pig.

I fumble for a minute before I get the door unlocked. We both step into the house, grateful to be out of the chilling rain.

"It's nice." Leah says referring to the kitchen.

"Yeah. Do you mind if I take a shower before we start?"

"Not at all. Do you need any help?" I think this over for a minute before I decide that the humiliation of Leah seeing me naked while I'm this filthy would not be worth the help.

"No thanks. I should be able to get it." I say as I grab a trash bag and some duct tape before heading to the bathroom.

"All right. I'll wait here, just holler if you need anything."

"Okay, thanks." I close the bathroom door and set everything up for maximum convenience. I undress slowly and carefully while sitting on the toilet seat.

I proceed to enclose my leg in the black plastic and tape it closed with the silver tape. I set the water to warm and carefully step in with my broken leg slightly propped on the edge of the bath tub. I take my time washing my hair with my favorite strawberry scented shampoo. I relish the feeling of the softly scented liquid sliding down my back as I rinse.

Even though it's only been two days since I've had a proper shower, it feels like forever. After I rinse the shampoo out, I condition my hair and wash my face. I let the conditioner set while I lather up a sponge and clean myself thoroughly. The water quickly runs cold, so I carefully step out avoiding the use of my bad leg.

I towel off and dress in another t-shirt, this one in the color black. I pull on another pair of gray sweats—they're the only kind of pants that I can fit over the cast. I brush my knotted hair into a messy ponytail and decide that that's as good as it's going to get. I brush my teeth with some new toothpaste Alice had bought. It tastes minty and leaves my mouth tingling after I have finished.

As I walk back into the living room, I notice that Leah has assembled several cardboard boxes.

"Hey. While I was waiting, I decided to put together some boxes, so we could get started."

"Thanks." I say as Leah grabs some boxes and follows me as I hobble into my room. "If you want, you can start on my books." I offer, as I point at the aforementioned books.

"Sure. Is there any particular order you want them packed?"

"By shelf is fine with me." With that we both get to work. I lean against my dresser as I pull clothes out of it and put them into one of the suitcases I own from when I moved here. The packing takes a while, especially due to me not having a full range of motion. I only make about halfway through my drawers before Leah is done with my books and offers to help me.

"Thanks." I say as Leah takes over packing my running clothes. We work in comfortable silence with the occasional question between the two of us. Leah quickly finishes packing my dresser and we both move on to my closet—Leah getting the things that are in the top and hanging, me getting the items that are near or at the bottom so that I can sit. As I pull out a random bag of things, I decide to just throw out what I don't need.

I go through the bag tossing things I don't recognize into a trashcan. I get to the bottom of the bag and find a photo album I do recognize. It's the only thing, besides my clothes, I kept when Renee threw me out of the house.

I sit there and just stare at the photo album for a long time. Leah says something, but I don't really catch it. Thankfully it snaps me out of my trance.

"What did you say? Sorry, I was kind of blanked out there."

"That's alright. I just wanted to know if you needed one of your pills—you looked like you were in pain."

"Oh, no. I'd rather wait until I get everything moved before I take one. If not, I'll be completely useless." Leah eyes me with suspicion for a few seconds before accepting my words. After we get back to work we accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. I throw all of my shoes into a clear tote and Leah does the same with my hoodies, though in a different tote. When my night stands are the only things left, we take a break.

"Are you hungry?" Leah asks putting her shoes on. I think about it for a minute. I haven't eaten since early this morning at the hospital.

"Kind of. If you want I can cook something really quick." Leah looks at me like I've just offered to get a job as a stripping juggler.

"Absolutely not. Carlisle made me promise to keep you off your feet. I'll just go out and pick something up. Is pizza okay with you?"

"Yeah, pizza's fine with me." I offer to give her money, but she shrugs me off.

"What do you on the pizza?"

"Anything except for anchovies, onions, and sausage." Leah nods and leaves me to finish my packing. She's only gone for a few minutes when I hear someone come in. "That was fast!" I exclaim. I don't hear any response for a few seconds and then Alice pokes her head inside my room. "Sorry. I thought you were Leah, she just left for pizza." I explain as Alice takes in the several packed boxes sitting in my room in gigantic stacks.

"Oh. I didn't realize you were moving out today." Alice looks shocked and a little hurt. "Were you going to leave without saying goodbye?"

"Of course not! I would never do that. It just makes more sense for me to move out today. Jasper wants this room and the stairs are a pain in the ass for me to climb." I say defensively. The hurt leaves as Alice takes in my reasoning.

"I don't even know why Jasper wants this room. We've never had any purpose for it. It worked for the best that you were living here." I shrug in mock confusion as Alice shakes her head in real confusion, I'm sure.

"What time does Jasper get off work today?" I ask. Maybe we can be done by the time he gets home so remove I can just do the mandatory, thanks for letting me live in your spare room for the past couple of years speech. Unfortunately, luck is not on my side today.

"He should be off by now. We both traded for morning shifts so that we could help. What time is Jake showing up?"

"Somewhere around two, I think." It crosses my mind that Leah's been gone for a while now. I wonder what's taking so long. Alice offers to help me with what's left and I'm quickly distracted. We work side by side packing the remainder of my possessions.

"Leah should have been back by now." I tell Alice after several minutes pass.

"Jasper should have been here by now as well." My heart skips a beat as I take in what this must mean. Either this is some huge coincidence or Jasper is talking to Leah. My breathing escalates as I push myself off of the floor and onto my crutches. I hop my way into the kitchen that overlooks the drive to see Jasper and Leah, as I had feared, in a very heated discussion.

"Are they here yet?" Alice asks.

"Yeah." I say and she picks up the change in my tone. I briefly wonder if I'm still going to have somewhere to move to after their discussion is done. Alice comes to stand beside me and gazes out at the agitated pair.

"I wonder what's that about. Do you know?"

"Nope." I say, though I do have a pretty good idea. We watch the two until Leah grabs the pizza from the back of the car and slams the door. She stomps off from Jasper and up the rickety stairs. Jasper walks up behind her, looking none too happy himself.

Leah lets herself in and looks surprised to see Alice and I standing in the kitchen waiting.

"Hi guys. Sorry it took so long. Jasper wanted to talk to me about some stuff and I got distracted. But I did get enough for everyone." I feel my face reddening and Leah just slightly shakes her head. Jasper walks in after a moment and everyone turns to look at him.

"Hey sweetie." he says as he hugs and kisses Alice. I turn away to help Leah dish up the pizza. "Bella. Leah tells me you're moving out today." Jasper almost pulls off the surprised face. Almost.

"Yeah, I figured it would be more convenient if I didn't have to climb those stairs any more than necessary." The look on Jasper's and Leah's faces tell me that neither buy my reason any more than I do. Thankfully Alice appears to be blissfully ignorant of all the tension in the room.

We all sit around the table to eat the cheese and mushroom pizza.

Alice breaks the silence first. "Bella's a perfect roommate. I often don't even know when she's here or not—she's so quiet." Though it was meant to be a compliment, my chest aches at the thought of Alice not even knowing when I'm present. Leah and Jasper both study my face at this comment with varying degrees of interest. "And she's a great cook. She also cleans all the time and rarely ever complains over anything." Alice rambles on for what seems like forever.

"That's good to know." Leah cuts Alice off after a few additional minutes. "I'm sure it will be lovely to have Bella living with us." I'm sure that the astonishment shows on my face at the news that she still plans on letting me rent the extra room after whatever Jasper had to say. Speaking of Jasper, his face looks a bit pinched. Alice and Leah talk for a few more minutes before they are interrupted by a knock on the door. Jasper gets up to answer it, as he is the closest.

Without much of a greeting, Jake shoulders in past Jasper. "Sorry it took me so long. I got stuck in traffic."

"That's fine. We actually just got done packing." I say as he helps himself to some pizza.

"We should really try to hurry. I heard on the radio that we're supposed to have a severe storm this evening. I would like to have all of your things inside before it starts." A severe storm.

"I just have to pack up my stuff in the bathroom." I say.

"I can get it." Alice exclaims getting up. "I just hate bad weather!" she rants as she disappears into the bathroom off the hallway.

Jake, Leah and a very reluctant Jasper begin to take my things out to Leah's SUV and put them into the backseat. Alice returns before long with my things from the bathroom.

"I can't believe you're moving out."

"Yeah, me either." I confess. We exchange our goodbyes ahead of time and I'm quite proud that I didn't cry during the whole exchange. That will, no doubt, come later.

Before long, all that's left is my furniture. I feel completely useless as I just sit out of the way. I watch everyone else carry out my bed and admire the way Leah holds her own carrying things. They are soon finished and all that's left is me. I say my short and partially rude goodbyes to Jasper. Alice makes me promise to call her tomorrow. I go to hobble down the stairs with Leah supporting me, much the same as she did when I went up them. Before I get down two, Jake interrupts.

"This is going to take forever. Leah grab her crutches, I'll just carry her down." Leah smacks him and he realizes his error. "I mean, if that's okay with you Bella."

"That's fine with me. It will certainly be faster than me walking down them, but you'll have to be careful of my leg." Leah seconds my warning but takes my crutches. Jake sweeps my feet out from under me and carries me down the stairs and places me into Leah's vehicle. I thank him and he returns to his truck. Leah shares a few parting words with Alice and Jasper before getting into the vehicle and starting it.

"It'll take about a half hour to get to the apartment." Leah says once we've been driving for a few minutes.

"That's fine." The storm around us begins to pick up and I vaguely hope that it doesn't knock the electricity out.

"The weather's getting pretty bad." I agree and watch out my window as a trash can is blown over in a passing parking lot. "So, Bella, I had an interesting conversation with Jasper earlier." Leah continues. I can feel my chest tightening and my breathing quickening. Leah notices—and looks alarmed. "Calm down. Nothing he said is going to affect the way Jake and I look at you." I keep my eyes forward and focus on slowing my breathing.

"What did he tell you?" I ask after I have calmed down significantly.

Instead of directly answering me, Leah asks me a question of her own. "How long have you been in love with Alice?"

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**A/N Thanks for reading everyone! I really appreciate it. Now if only someone would want to review? :)**

**Until next time,**

**Dawn**


	4. Bottom of the River

**Hi! Thanks to everyone that has read/reviewed/followed/favorited.**

**Disclaimer: Twilight still isn't mine.**

**Thanks to my awesome beta MinaBR who kindly fixed this chapter.**

* * *

I immediately begin to panic.

"Calm down, Bella." Leah reiterates. "I'm just curious. Your answer isn't going to change anything, even if you tell me to fuck off." I once again calm myself and take a deep breath before answering.

"Somewhere around two years, I think." I say. Leah looks over at me with surprise clearly on her face.

"Wow. That must have been hard, living with her and her boyfriend." She doesn't sound judgmental and I find myself responding.

"It was—that was one of the main reasons why I agreed with Jasper that it was time for me to move."

"Did Jasper ask you to move?" I snort.

"He more like railroaded me into it. I didn't really have a choice." I explain because, the way that I see it, it is the truth. It's not like Jasper approached me quietly and asked me to move, he basically confronted me in front of Alice.

"I'm sorry. I won't say anything to Jake if you don't want me to." Leah's voice practically radiates kindness. I appreciate this immensely. I had no idea how she would react and I'm glad that it wasn't the same way Jasper and Renee did. I don't know if I could have handled another person hating me for being who I am.

"Thanks." I say and Leah changes the conversation back to the weather, as if I hadn't just admitted something to her that I haven't told anyone else. But then again, she doesn't really know that no one else knows, my inner voice speaks up.

"This rain is really picking up. I'm glad we're almost home." I just nod since I have no idea where "home" is. I really should have asked for more information before I agreed to move in.

I soon find out where home is as we pull into the parking lot of a rather nice building. "Here we are." Leah says, unbuckling her seat belt. I unbuckle mine too and carefully hop out of the SUV. Leah grabs a couple of boxes and leads me into the building.

"This is George." Leah says pointing to an older gentleman sitting in a chair in the lobby. He appears to maybe be in his late sixties. He has a large beard and reminds me of the Santa Claus impersonators who always stand outside asking for donations around Christmas time. "He's supposed to be security but between you and me, he wouldn't hurt a fly." I laugh as we continue through the lobby to the elevator that's conveniently tucked away in a corner. Leah pushes the up button and we wait until the doors open.

"Where's Jake?" I ask as we get into the red carpeted elevator. The interior panels are much like every other elevator I have been in, silver with black trimmings.

"He's going to start taking the furniture up through the service entrance. He'll probably get a couple of his friends to help him out." We go up a few floors in silence before the elevator stops and dings, announcing our arrival. I follow Leah out to a beige carpeted hallway. She walks down to the end of the hallway and unlocks the last door on the left. I follow her into a large open room that has a couch, two chairs, a flat screen TV and a coffee table. The carpet is beige, the walls are white and there are two large bay windows overlooking the downtown traffic.

"Wow." I say as I take it all in. Before she can respond there is a loud banging on the door. Leah rushes over and opens it to reveal Jake and another large guy carrying my bed frame. We step to the side to let them pass. A few minutes later they return to the living room and Leah introduces me to the other guy.

"This is Embry. He's Jake's best friend."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Bella Swan." I say holding out my hand for him to shake.

"Likewise. Leah's talked about you so much these past couple of days." I am positive that my shock shows on my face. First Jake said this very thing, and now, Embry. Leah doesn't say anything but ushers me down the hall and tells the guys to get back to work.

She pushes open a white unmarked door and says, "This is your room." The room is larger than my old one. The walls and carpet are much like the rest of the apartment, white and beige. There is one large window in the middle of a wall that shows the same view as the windows in the living room. I can see that on the back of the door there is a full length mirror attached. All of the woodwork is white, and so are the windowpanes.

I walk over to the window and look down. I can see people, going about their everyday lives in the storm. I can also see the river in the distance. Once the weather clears up, it will be a spectacular view. Leah interrupts my thoughts after a moment.

"My room's right across the hall, and Jake's is off the living room. Do you know where you want to put your bed?" she asks

"No, I'm not sure." The room has so many possibilities that I have no idea where to put anything.

"You can look at my room and see if you like the way it's set up, and if so, I'm sure we can move everything around to fit the way my stuff is." Leah offers. I stand in stunned silence for a minute at the thought that she's offering to let me see the most personal space in her life. I quickly regroup my thoughts, before she thinks I'm a total airhead.

"Yeah, that would be great." Leah gestures for me to follow her across the hallway and into a room that has an identical door as mine. She opens the door and turns on a lamp in the corner. Her bed is pushed up against the wall that's opposite the window and is decorated in varying shades of green. Her furniture is all dark cherry wood and offsets the carpet and walls beautifully. Her curtains are bright white. I wonder how she sleeps in the morning.

"So what do you think?" Leah asks as I take in the last corner of her room, where she has a trash can and a silver lamp.

"It looks nice." I say.

"Thanks. Do you think you would like your bed to be in the same position as mine?" I realize I just screwed up big time by not paying attention to her question, and as a result, I can feel my face reddening.

"Uh… yeah. That would be nice." I exit her room and move back towards mine, to see that the guys have carried up more of my furniture. Leah waits until Jake and Embry come back up with my mattress and makes them move the furniture to where I want it.

"Thanks." I say as they finish.

"No problem, Bella. If I wasn't here helping you, I'd probably be at home doing something really stupid." We all laugh at Embry's joke.

Jake clears his throat and we all look to him. "That was the last of the furniture, but Embry said he'll help with whatever is in the car." We just continue to look at him until he further explains. "I need your car keys, Leah."

"Oh, yeah. I'm sorry, it slipped my mind." Leah hands Jake her keys and he smirks.

"I'm sure it did. Though if you kept your mind off of other things, then you probably wouldn't be forgetting things." This time, it's Leah's turn to blush. Her face turns a delicate shade of pink that reminds me of the color of someone's lips after they eat berries. I am instantly captivated and stare until I notice that conversation has returned to normal, and the guys are going back downstairs to get boxes.

"Sorry about Jake, he's always like that." Leah says.

"It's fine." I try to keep my voice indifferent. The last thing that needs to happen is for Leah to know that I would be perfectly okay if Jake's teasing wasn't just teasing.

"We can wait until they finish bringing everything up before you unpack. Do you want something to drink?"

"Sure, water's fine." Leah gets me a bottle of water and gets herself a can of soda—we sit on the couch while the guys continue to bring my belongings into the apartment. I take in my surroundings and look at the several pictures adorning the walls. Most of them contain images of Jake and his friends, or what I assume is his family. One picture in particular has Jake, a small woman with black hair, a man in a wheelchair, and twin girls with hair matching the woman's. Leah notices me looking at the picture and explains.

"That's Jake and his family." she says pointing at each person individually. "That's his mom and dad, and those are his two little sisters, Rachel and Rebecca."

"They look so cute." I say referring to the twin girls.

"I know, they almost make me want kids. Every time Jake keeps them for the night, I end up giving them everything I've been told not to. They're just so sweet and little, I can't help it!" I laugh as Leah says this. She continues taking me around the room and explaining who everyone is. "This is Sam and his wife Emily. Emily is my cousin but we're more like sisters." Emily has several scars that go across her otherwise perfect face. "She was attacked by a bear as a child on a family camping trip."

"That's awful!"

"Yeah, she had a lot of problems growing up but now she's not so sensitive about it." Leah explains.

While most of the pictures feature people who are clearly of Native American descent, the next picture has a couple that look nowhere near Native American.

"This is Edward Masen and Kate Denali." She offers no other explanation.

"They look very nice together." I say for lack of other words.

"Kate thought so too—that's why she left me for him." Wait a minute! Did she just say that Kate was her ex-girlfriend? Does that mean she's a lesbian? What about Jake, they seemed awfully close earlier. Leah glances over at me and I'm sure that my face is bright red.

"Oh, I'm sorry she did that." I say halfheartedly. If this means I have a chance with Leah, then I'm not that sorry they broke up.

"It's fine. We didn't get along that great anyway." I stand there for another moment before she speaks again. "See, I told you that no matter what your answer was in the car, it wouldn't matter to me." I nod my head in understanding.

"So, are you..." I trail off, not sure how to complete my sentence. Leah senses my discomfort and leads me back to the couch.

"I'm bi. Though I prefer to not label things. You like who you like, you know?"

"Yeah, of course. I'm sorry if I over stepped the line there." I say with my face burning a brighter shade of red.

"No, it's fine. At least we've already had this conversation and now I know you're not some close minded bigot." She says with a little laugh. I leave it at that and thankfully, before things get awkward, Jake and Embry come back up.

"This is the last of it." Jake reports as he comes out of my room.

"Thanks so much." I say. "I wouldn't have been able to get that stuff up here, even if I didn't have a broken leg."

"No problem, Bella. Though, if you, ya know, wanted to make me some chocolate chip cookies, I wouldn't mind." Jake looks a little sheepish as he says this. That's the least I can do, bake cookies for them moving me.

"Consider it done." His answering smile makes me think of a little kid on Christmas morning.

The lights flicker and we all stare up at them for a minute before they steady. Embry heads to the door.

"I should head out before this storm gets any worse." We all say our goodbyes and I thank him again before he leaves.

"Do you want me to help you unpack things?" Leah asks tentatively, as if what we discussed changed my opinion of her.

"That'd be great. I can't exactly stand and put things away so I could really use the help." I say as I begin to head towards my room. I can hear Leah following me so I continue without looking back. The boxes are relatively neatly stacked around my room.

"Where do you want to start?" I glance around the room.

"I can start on the closet stuff and you can do your books, if you want."

"Sure." I say, grabbing the box of books and scooting them with my crutch, to their destination by the wall. Leah grabs a box of clothes that need to be hung up and starts hanging them by color.

I separate my books into stacks of genre and then alphabetically by author's last name. This takes quite a bit of time, Leah gets two boxes done by the time that I have my books organized enough to put on the shelf. I manage, however, and around thirty minutes later, I'm done with them.

"Bella, do you want to leave your shoes in this tote and just put them in the bottom of the closet?" Leah asks after a while. That would make more sense.

"That will be fine." I say taking in all that's still left. I move over to my dresser and Leah follows me.

"I thought maybe I could hand you your clothes and then you could put them away, so that you don't have to move around so much."

"Thanks." I say. "I never would have thought of that." Especially not with you around, I think. We work in silence for a few minutes before Leah begins asking me questions.

"What college do you go to?"

"Seattle University, I'm studying English." I volunteer. I follow up with a question of my own, "How far is the bus station from here?"

"About half a block. Where do you work at?"

"The public library. I generally just answer phones and take notes and scan in the new books we get in."

"That sounds like fun."

I snort, "Hardly, but it pays the bills."

"That's what's important. What do you plan to do after you graduate?"

"I'm not positive, but I think I'm going into publishing, hopefully."

"That sounds interesting. Did you grow up around here?" I think about how to answer this for a moment.

"No, I grew up in Phoenix, but I moved to Forks when I was sixteen." Leah pauses in her questioning as we finish my second suitcase of clothing. We move on to my box of linens. "Can you hang up the gray curtains?" I ask as Leah pulls out several pairs of curtains. What can I say? I like variety.

"Sure." She hangs up the gray curtains and then helps me make my bed. I have a few sheet sets, but my favorite is the one that has little black flowers around the edges. Those are the sheets that we put on. We also put my white comforter and my gray duvet cover on. "You sure do like black, white, and gray." Leah observes.

"Yeah, I guess so." I say looking around. All we have left to do is to put the stuff in my nightstands and to take my toiletries to the bathroom. I slowly hobble around my bed until I get to one of my nightstands. I begin putting all of my photo albums into it and follow those with all of my magazines. Leah helps set up my TV on my dresser as I work on this.

Once we're both finished, Leah shows me the bathroom. It's right beside Leah's room.

"We'll be sharing a bathroom. I hope that's okay."

"It's fine." I assure her. The bathroom is decorated in a turtle theme, it seems. The shower curtain is white with sea turtles swimming on it around the bottom. It is also partially see through. There is a turtle rug right beside the shower and the shower curtain hooks appear to be mini turtles. The soap dispenser has turtles on it and so does the tooth brush holder.

"Are there too many turtles?" Leah asks.

"No, they are kind of cute." I say taking everything else in. Leah steps behind me and in the process, brushes against me. At that one little touch, I feel a familiar tingling. I try to banish my not-so-nice thoughts and concentrate on what Leah is telling me.

"I cleared off a couple of shelves here so you can put your things."

"Thanks." I begin putting my gray towels on one of the shelves.

"Well, I'll leave you to it. I'll be in the living room probably." Leah says as she leaves the bathroom.

"Okay." I respond, continuing putting away my belongings. I put my toothbrush next to Leah's and my shower caddy in the opposite corner of Leah's things. I place my extra medicine and my first aid kit behind my towels. I put my hair dryer under the sink as well as my curling iron and the straightener I almost never use. I also stash my feminine products next Leah's and my vitamins in where hers are. The box is quickly empty and I take a final look around before I leave the bathroom. I can see little hints of me here beside of all the things that practically scream Leah, which makes me ridiculously happy.

I take the empty box to the now over flowing recycling bin. We've been using it all day to put my boxes in and now, it seriously needs to be emptied. I hop on my crutches and into the living room where Leah is sitting staring at a piece of paper. She looks up as I sit down on the soft leather.

"Done already?"

"Yeah, I didn't really have a lot. But I put some of my things next to yours. Is that okay?" I ask just to make sure. I'd hate to make one of my roommates mad on the first day of me living here.

"Yeah that's fine with me. Are you hungry?" I look at a clock that is on the wall and realize it's just after seven, and way after the time I usually eat dinner.

"I could eat." I say.

"Is there anything you don't like or are allergic to?" Leah asks me as she makes her way into the kitchen. I follow her out of curiosity and not wanting to be away from her for very long, which is weird. I never felt this way when I was living with Alice. The kitchen has the same walls as everywhere else but the floors are tiled in beige instead of having carpet. The appliances are all white and the counters look to be granite. I look around and notice Leah's looking at me expectantly. Shit, I must have missed a question. I think back briefly to what we were talking about. Dinner. I scan through the conversation in my head and realize I never answered the question about my dislikes.

"I don't like fish, or onions. But I don't have any allergies besides, like, seasonal ones." I say, thankful that Leah doesn't call me out on being distracted. I don't think that I've ever drifted off so much because of one person, not even Alice, though this is close.

"I think that I'm going to make some spaghetti and garlic bread for dinner, if that's okay with you."

"That sounds good. Do you want me to ask Jake?"

"Nope. He'll eat whatever I cook or whatever anyone cooks for that matter. He's not exactly picky, if you know what I mean." We laugh. Leah gets started cooking soon after. I offer to help several times but she always refuses citing Carlisle's warning about me keeping off of my feet. "You can go tell Jake to wash up for dinner if you want." she finally says after a while.

I agree and then get up and make my way into the living room. There are only two doors in the living room so I figure that I can't go wrong knocking on the one that doesn't lead to outside. I knock and wait a few seconds before I hear a muffled, "Come in." I open the door and notice right away that Jake's room is almost identical to mine and Leah's.

"Leah's making spaghetti and garlic bread. She wanted me to tell you it's almost done." I say. Jake groans and then gets up from the chair he was lounging in, looking excited.

"Leah's spaghetti is the best. I don't know how she does it, but it's awesome." Jake explains, following me out into the living room. We both go into the kitchen and see that Leah already has everything put onto the table, including the plates that are white with green swirled designs.

I take a bite of the spaghetti and am pleasantly surprised. It doesn't taste like any other spaghetti I've ever tried.

"It's good, isn't it?" Jake asks looking up from his own plate.

"It's great." I say and Leah looks down modestly while telling us both it's just spaghetti. Dinner is a quiet affair and it is quickly over, much to my disappointment.

I help Leah with the dishes and then head into the bathroom to take another shower. I have sweated more today than I usually do when I full on work out. Though the hot water feels heavenly, I hurry through my shower, not taking near as long as I did earlier today. I towel my hair dry and put on a pair of black night shorts and a blue t-shirt to sleep in. I don't think it's necessary to match when you're just sleeping. I brush my hair out and pull it into a low bun—when I sleep with my hair down it gets way too tangled for me to deal with.

I go into my room and turn out the light. I'm way too tired to do anything else today. I look at the clock on my nightstand and see it's only ten o'clock. These past few days have really tired me out. I lay down in my soft bed, thanking God, that it's not the hospital one in which I'd slept for the past couple of nights. I curl up in my blankets and close my eyes.

The last thing I register before I surrender to darkness, is Leah, saying goodnight. I dream about Leah again. I dream we are in a green and sunny meadow. There is a little boy with us and I know at once he is our son. The dream continues—we all play in the meadow, until the sky turns gray and the little boy disappears.

I wake up with a gasp. I sit up in my bed and look around. It's only two in the morning, way too early for me to stay up. I think about my dream. I've never wanted children. I'm too afraid I'll turn out like Renee—hateful and bitter. I try to banish these thoughts and go back to sleep. Eventually, I succeed and the darkness that is sleep, claims me once more.

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**A/N Thanks for reading! Please review, if you want. Thanks to everyone who reads, it means a lot!**

**Until next time,**

**Dawn**


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